Promoting Less Widely-Taught Community Languages through Language Qualifications: a Hungarian ECL Examination Study Day

27 November 2013

On
9 November, the British Hungarian Educators’ Association (MOKKA), UCL SSEES and
the Balassi Institute Hungarian Cultural Centre in London held a successful
Public Engagement Open Day at UCL SSEES (see programme here). The event
was attended by approximately 50 people from outside of UCL, including 30 potential future university students and their parents. The families form part of the fast growing Hungarian
community in the UK, with the UK-born children learning Hungarian in their homes and in weekend community
schools. The Language Promotion Open Day gave these young learners opportunity to use their
heritage language in a more formal setting.

In addition, the event helped to raise awareness in the non-academic
community of UCL SSEES’s activities and especially the important role of Hungarian and area studies, within the languages and culture programme, at UCL SSEES.

Feedback
and comments on the programme of the day:

“Our teenage students
turned up in great numbers because the topics were relevant and the number of
candidates for the mock ECL exam also showed that you managed to tap into
something that is important for them. I think this event helped them realise
that their bilingualism is an asset and that the English establishment,
represented in this case by UCL, appreciates and supports them, which, in
return, helps their integration into this society. I think the format of
lectures, quizzes, Q&A sessions, walks
and mock-exams worked well and would welcome similar opportunities in the
future.”